Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira arrives in Dhaka

A ‘technical cooperation agreement’ setting guidelines in various fields and a MoU on sports cooperation may be signed during his visit

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has arrived in Dhaka for a two-day visit to the country in the first high-level visit by a government official from the South American country.

The foreign minister arrived at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday morning and was greeted by Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

Vieira will meet with business representatives as well as government officials during his visit. He is to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, members of her Cabinet, and attend a few private events as well.

He is scheduled to meet State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu at the Hotel Intercontinental for talks at 3:15pm on Sunday. He will then meet his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud at the State Guest House Jamuna at 4:45pm for bilateral talks.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is placing a great deal of importance on the visit. A ‘technical cooperation agreement’ on cooperation in various fields and a Memorandum of Understanding on sports are to be signed during the visit.

“For the first time since our independence, a Brazilian foreign minister is coming for a visit,” said Foreign Secretary Momen. “This is significant. Brazil is the largest country in South America. Their interest has increased over time and it has now peaked.”

Brazil, the largest economy in South America, currently presides over the G20 alliance. The foreign secretary described the visit as a ‘big opportunity’ to advance relations.

“When they see Bangladesh’s relations with Brazil growing stronger, other South American countries will become more interested. Hopefully, they will follow.”

Businessmen from both countries are part of the Brazilian foreign minister’s agenda, which is designed to promote trade. Foreign Minister Mahmud also hopes to create opportunities to increase Bangladesh’s trade with Brazil.

“We import cooking oil and other products from Brazil,” he said. “But exports to South America remains largely unexplored. Brazil is a big country. Their purchasing power is also high, so there is a huge opportunity to grow our trade relations with them.”

Bangladesh imports a significant amount of cotton from Brazil to power the readymade garments industry. It also imports daily commodities like sugar, cooking oil, and wheat.

Bangladesh is Brazil’s fourth largest buyer of cotton. In 2022-23, Bangladesh imported 233 tonnes of cotton from the country. So far, in 2023-24, it has imported 132 tonnes.

Bangladesh Bank says Bangladesh imported Tk 60.63 billion worth of cotton from Brazil in 2022-23. The figure was Tk 39.53 billion in the previous fiscal year.

Officials from the South American division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say Brazil has also raised discussions of beef exports to Bangladesh surrounding this visit.

Brazilian Ambassador to Dhaka Paulo Fernando Dias Feres described the foreign minister’s visit as a ‘milestone’ in bilateral relations between the two countries at an event in February.

“Through this, our relationship can be strengthened,” he said.

Foreign Secretary Momen said the technical cooperation agreement that will be signed during the visit will include guidelines on advancing cooperation in various sectors.

“The agreement acts as an umbrella agreement when a country interacts a lot or begins to act as a development partner.”

Bangladesh is also signing a cooperation agreement on sports with Brazil, another superpower of South American football, after it signed one with Argentina.

“Basically, the cooperation will be in the field of football,” said Momen. “This will include an exchange of coaches, the training of players, etc.”